Family Fun Extra - The Great Muppet Caper

Universal/ITC, 1981
Starring The Muppets, Diana Rigg, and Charles Grodin
Directed by Jim Henson
Music and Lyrics by Joe Raposo

Even the Muppets got in on the musical fashion stories in this comic mystery, their second movie. While it didn't do as well as their first, The Muppet Movie, at the time, it's just as well-regarded today. Let's take a hot air balloon with Fozzie, Kermit, and Gonzo to see how well this musical spoof holds up nowadays...

The Story: Kermit and Fozzie are reporters for The Daily Chronicle, and Gonzo's a photographer. They're so caught up in Gonzo's chicken obsession and the movie's opening number, they miss British fashion designer Lady Holiday (Rigg) having her jewels stolen right behind them. Their boss at the Chronicle (Jack Warden) fires them, but they convince him to send them to London to cover the case.

They go to Lady Holiday's fashion house for an interview, only to run into modeling hopeful Miss Piggy. Piggy lies and tells them that she's Lady Holiday to get a date with Kermit. The date goes well, until Lady Holiday's diamond necklace is stolen. Her jealous brother Nicky (Grodin) is the real thief, with the help of three of her models. When he frames Miss Piggy at his sister's fashion show, the other Muppets leap into action to clear her name.

The Song and Dance: Along with Christmas Carol and The Muppets Take Manhattan, this is my favorite Muppet movie. There's enough fourth walls broken in this movie to start a brick store. I'm a mystery fan to begin with and I love the riff on detective stories and heist capers. Rigg and especially Grodin are having a great time as the elegant but exasperated fashionista and her dastardly brother with a thing for pigs. Look for the scene where Piggy bursts into the Mallory Gallery on a motorcycle and saves the day, and Peter Faulk telling Kermit a long, rambling story ala his most famous character Columbo.

(And once again, I love the fashions here. I still have a weakness for the Victorian-esque ruffly gowns of my early childhood. Most of Lady Holiday's designs seem to be either Victorian or 50's influenced, with huge flowered hats, tons of lace and ruffles, big skirts, and pastels.)

Favorite Number: "The First Time It Happens" was nominated for an Oscar, and it turns into a great parody of 30's Eleanor Powell-style numbers, including Piggy getting a tap solo (in glass slippers!). Piggy also figures into the infamous Esther Williams spoof, with Grodin singing tenor (dubbed, as Piggy points out later), complete with synchronized swimmers and Piggy rising up out of the water in a sparkling pedestal at the end.

My personal favorite song from this one is "Couldn't We Ride?" Henson one-ups having Kermit ride a bike in the original movie by putting all of the Muppets (but Statler and Waldorf) on bikes. It still looks good to this day, and is the cutest song in the movie.

What I Don't Like: The music isn't bad, but it's not quite as memorable as in the original film. There's occasionally a little too much focus on humans Rigg and Grodin, and maybe not as much focus as you'd like on the Muppets. While the cameos include Robert Morley, Peter Ustinov, and John Cleese along with Faulk, there's not as many of them as the other Muppet films, nor are they as recognizable. The story can occasionally get a little complicated for a Muppet movie, and the mystery is slightly more mature for them and may confuse younger kids.

The Big Finale: I'm surprised this one didn't do better in 1981. People may have been expecting a looser story ala The Muppet Movie and more cameos, but it's actually aged pretty well. If you've got slightly older kids or are a fan of the Muppets, this wacky heist tale is definitely worth robbing a diamond for.

Home Media: The Kermit's 50th Anniversary DVD that I have features both the widescreen and fullscreen versions; unlike Christmas Carol, there's really no difference between the two, other than the screen size.  It can also be found on a couple of streaming platforms.

DVD
Amazon Prime